Lexus SC 430

Comments

Bruceross, roller coasters scare the you-know-what outta me!! I was crushed - thought it would be ready tomorrow but now it looks like Wednesday...now I'm getting excited & I want it!! Well, it'll be just that much sweeter, I guess. Thanks again for making me feel good, Sue

Hi,I'm new to the forum.I currently am leasing a beautiful dark green 2003 lexus.I have a 3 year lease which will expire in a year.My payoff at that point will be $38,000.

I will have only about 12,000 miles in a year when my lease is up.I'm contemplating buying the car rather than turning it in and leasing a new lexus.My reason is that with such low mileage I would be better off to buy it and trade it in on a new Lexus...What do you think ?

Also,are there any prototypes of the 2007 SC 430??Will there be radical changes??

Anyway,I may well just payoff the car and keep the 2003 because of the very low mileage but I suppose alot hinges on what the 2007 will look like.

Has this color been discontinued??I have a Lexus SC430 in this color and adore it..in the bright sun its an incredble dark metallic green..in the shade and at night it appears black..I'm thinking of getting another SC430 when my lease runs out next year and wondering if this color is still available?

I don't know what you have been smoking, or if you even smoke, but the only thing that the spoiler on the SC430 will do for you at 156 mph is fall off! It adds no stability as the car needs no additional down force, and it could possibly cause the trunk lid to come open from the front. Wouldn't that be a hoot. At 156 mph that might actually get the front wheels off the ground. Talk about a speed break! (just kidding on the trunk) although if the ele. mechanism released and the trunk started to open that back wing would sure help it come open!

No matter where you get your tires, DON'T get them from Costco or you will be sorry!

I got mine from Discount and couldn't be happier. They get me right all over the country and they rotate and balance as soon as I come in. No matter where I am.

I tried that with Costo and the SOB's made my wife sit 6 hours when they said they would get right on it. They said they sold a lot of tires that day and that they do the installs first! THey just let my wife sit there without even telling her why. She kept asking, "how long" and they would say "very soon now" BS. When I found out I called and raised holly hell!! To compensate my wife for her 6 wasted hours, they gave her a coupon for a free hot dog!!!BFD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Costco and still go there for everything else, but NEVER, NEVER again for tires!!!!!!!!!!

My wife went in for a rotation. I have heard it's even worse for a flat!

TO BRUCEROSS - Hi! Just wanted to let you know I've had my car almost a week now. I think I'm starting to get used to it! For the first few days I felt like I was driving a loaner & resented its smallness and unfamiliarity, and I even started wondering if I could get my Buick back! Today was probably the 3rd day in a row that I've started feeling this is MY car and I'm having FUN. I hear a funky sound in 1 speaker (i'll take it in next week for that) but other than that, I'd have to say all is perfect. It's supposed to be a lovely weekend in Dallas this weekend - I can't wait to get out there & wax my new baby! Sue

Hi Sue, I am so glad you got your car.I too thought the car was small inside, but as you continue to drive it you will come to appreciate the almost intuitive setup of all the cars functions. Please do me a favor and take the top down and sport your new ride on the streets of Dallas this weekend. There is no doubt in my mind you will be turning heads as you cruise down the causeways of the Texas countyside.You will find that your car is sooo much fun to drive and is equally able to take you to that country BBQ or the finest restaurant and concert!You now you have arrived when you pull up in your new SC430!!!

Hey, Bruceross, we just got home from going to dinner, and we took the L-O-N-G way! Put the top down and turned on the heated seats 'cause I forgot my jacket. The other night we went to Sonic for a burger, and I heard some folks in the car next to us and they were talking about our car - what a hoot!! I'm enjoying it more each day, and I can't wait to "bond" with it when I wax it this week. Thank you a million times over for nudging me in the "proper" direction! what else do you drive?....Sue

Hi Sue,I am so glad you chose the proper direction. The more you drive your new baby the more you will fall in love with it!And Sue, try the wax made by Magquires in the purple bottle. That wax really gives the most shine of any product out there.If you are like me nothing is to good for your baby! As for the other cars I drive, well for my daily driver its a LS400 Lexus sedan and my wife drives a RX330 Lexus SUV (Can you tell I like the Lexus brand)Well enjoy you new car as I know you will!!!

Hi everyone, I just bought a 2002 SC430 with 27,000Km (16,000 Miles, I'm Canadian, eh). I did my research and was pleased to know that I made the right decision and purchased an excellent vehicle. I'm looking for a comfortable quiet ride with my SC and was wondering how much difference it would ride with regular tires instead of the run flats. I looked on the web and the Avon Tech M550 M+S was rated the best tire for the spec's required.Anyone have any comments?

Well I ditched the runflats last weekend and put a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s on. Phenomenal tires. It's like I have a new car. Night and day difference, no more harsh ride or squirrley behavior. I now have the car I thought I bought. Since I don't have a spare (I do have AAA and Lexus roadside)I bought one of these http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/conticomfortkit/index.jsp

Should work with most problems except a full blown blowout. Highly recommend dumping the Flinstone cement tires and get a set of real tires. You won't look back.

I've been reading the thread about the 2002 SC430 with interest, because I have a chance to buy one. I have always loved the look of this car but never dreamed I could own one. In fact, I drive a Toyota Solara now in part because it reminds me of the SC430 from the back! I've done a lot of research, but there is one thing I still don't have a definitive answer for--winter driving. I know I'd need to get really good snow tires (I already checked some out at Tire Rack), but I wonder if anyone can tell me whether this just isn't a car you can drive in snow at all, even with snow tires. Some say you can't because of the low profile; others say you can. Any insights you can give would be greatly appreciated--this would be my year-round car and I'd have to be able to drive it in winter.

Well I live about 25 miles outside of Boston and commute to the city daily in my 03 SC 430. I did buy 4 snows as I have always used summer and winter tires not all seasons. With the snows the car was fine, although we had a mild winter. In the few storms we did have the car performed reasonably well. You must remember it is rear wheel drive and has some power. I found in the winter mode with the TCS off I did just fine. I wouldn't think winter should stop you from enjoying the car. I would recommend ditching the runflats and buying real tires. If you scroll up a bit there are a couple of threads on that subject. Good luckJTMav

Does anyone have the instructions on how to replace the Power Steering Pump on a 1995 Lexus SC400? I have looked several places for a repair manual and can not locate one. I can not wait long enough to order one on-line... Any help!!!!

My, My, My.... the number of posts re: run flats in the forum on SC430's is quite extensive. I've cut and paste until i'm about to go crazy. I have a 2002 SC430 with the original RF's and just turned 20,000 miles. The noise is AWFUL, the ride is DREADFUL, and the bumps TERRIBLE. I'm not a speeder and we're looking for the ULTRA-QUIET, ULTRA-SMOOTH ride you would expect in a Lexus. Price is not the biggest issue, only the quality and comfort of the ride.

I replaced the original run-flats on my wife's SC430 at about 20,000 miles, with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires in the original size. The ride and noise was much improved. However, at the same time I also replaced the wheels with HREs. This may have contributed to the improved ride quality, since I think they are lighter weight than the original wheels.

A large local newspaper is looking to interview consumers who purchased a Lexus, Toyota or Scion vehicle and what led you to purchase that vehicle. Please send an e-mail to ctalati@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, April 5, 2006 containing your daytime contact information, along with the make and model your vehicle.

Thanks,Chintan Talati Corporate Communications Edmunds.com

Community Manager If you have any questions or concerns about the Forums, send me an email, karen@edmunds.com, or click on my screen name to send a personal message.

Our Lexus SC430 (2006) is my wife's car and she really has no complaints related to ride quality. Her car came with Dunlop SP Sport 5000 DSST tires. We live in Texas and our roads are pretty good. I suppose if we lived in an area where roads were bad she could have a different opinion. My dealer delivered the car to us with 45 psi tire pressure (much higher than the door jamb suggests), and when I inquired about this, they said, "our experience suggests that this pressure actually IMPROVES the harshness rather than worsening it". I guess "hard air" is still more forgiving than "hard rubber". Personally, I like the trunk space that is available and the peace of mind knowing that I'm not going to get one of those "my car has a flat tire" calls while I'm at work. I personally don't find the ride objectional either. It does ride firmly (completely appropriate for a sporty type car) but I wouldn't characterize it as harsh in any way. Much better than Corvette or Mercedes SL500, both of which were on her "short list". My advice is, use the run flats for all their positive attributes and work on missing the pot holts.

This looks like a really good thing and would be nice in out other cars too. Thanks very much for bringing this my attention.

I do have one question. How would the "goo" affect the tire pressure sensor system? These sensors are realatively expensive and run on batteries so they require periodic replacement (say every 3 years or so). Just curious if you had researched that aspect of using the tire sealant. Other than this one concern, your solution seems about perfect.

No. This is the only temporary flat repair solution that was specifically designed not to damage the sensors that I could find. The "goo" is water based and should be safe. Hopefully we won't have to try it out.

Well maybe with a few miles on them you are happy. But let's look at the trade off. 45 psi to start with, the tires are notoriously short lived, with 45 psi you'll be lucky to get 10k out of them. Noise, wait till you put a few more miles and see how noisy they are. Handling, the car with real tires on it handles beautifully. With the runflats especially in rainy weather are slippery and IMHO unsafe especially with 45psi. Cost is exorbitant. Any type of irregularity in the road surface is amplified dramatically. It will take it's toll on the entire integrity of the car with repeated jarring. Many long time users of runflats have complained about this. Even the long term Edmunds review decided that the car was like "night and day" with traditional tires. I think it is unanimous with SC 430 owners who have switched none that I know of are going back to runflats, the technology isn't ready for prime time in my humble opinion.Congrats on the new ride, hope she has loves it

I just replaced my original run flats (25k) with regular tires...I was considering getting the tire repair kit that was posted above, but then I noticed room in the trunk for a small spare....there is already a jack there.....has anyone purchased a spare separately?

Does anyone know anything about the performance of the all-season run flats versus the summer run flats? I just bought one with the summer tires on it, but I'm worried about driving with these in the rain/ snow. will the all seasons be any better or will I need regular winter tires regardless?thanks!

I will never buy a Lexus again. I will reccommend to my friends NOT to buy a Lexus. The reason, the warranty! I had the brand new vehicle for 3 months off the show room. Since day one, it could not start on its own. The batterry was never recharged after I drove it or let the car run for 30 minutes. When I brought it to the dealer in Wilmington, Delaware, they said my IC computer was fried and it was not a warranty problem. Needless to say, this will be the last Lexus that I own. Be sure that everyone I know will know this Lexus quality problem.

I Am a recently retired Volvo Master Tech,32 years experience,my wife and I are getting an 06 430. I would SERIOUSLY wait if you want the Volvo.Let others be the guinea pig for this new design.I have no axe to grind, Volvo was very good to me.But Volvo is not Lexus, I made a lot of money repairing new model problems.This is true of most manufacturers.The Lexus is a proven design.

Hi BRUCEROSS,Just wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying my '02 430! After a tough day at work I couldn't wait to get in my baby & lower the top! My dealership folks recommended the paste wax by Mother's, which is what I used, and it looks great. But I'm always looking for better & will give the purple Maguires a try. What do you use for the interior, though? I just got some Maguire for leather wipes - is that ok for the dash as well? Sue in Dallas